What Binds Us
by WoomyLife
Summary: Persona 6 Imaging Story. For the world to become better place, those that sinned must be punished. Sinner must be willing to repent for all their sins, no matter the price that needs to be paid. Those ones trapped by their past will be the ones to pay the price for a better world. However, who gets to decided on what is right and wrong, and is there too high of a price?


April 6th, 2020/Monday/Clear Skies/Morning

If he were asked to describe his surroundings, only one word would come to mind; boring. Looking out of any of the windows one would be greeted by a large amount of forestry. Large coniferous trees flanked the taxi on both sides. The forest that surround him was too dense to enjoy the scenery, or appreciate nature as some may say, and that didn't bug him in the slightest.

He wore a large pair of noise canceling headphones which drowned out the noises of nature and the solitary car he was in. There wasn't any kind of music that he could say that he preferred over another and as such opted to listen to anything that caught his attention. The song he was currently listening too was more on the mellow side of the hip-hop spectrum, as it was more suited to relax one than too excite them.

He looked to the front seat of the car where he saw his taxi driver who seemed bored out of his mind as well. The taxi driver had bags under his eyes, it was obvious at first glance that the driver was sleepy and without the proper stimulus he would fall asleep. Luckily for them the driver was smart enough to have brought a cup of coffee with him and would occasionally take a sip from the hot bitter liquid.

The driver's attention was brought to the rear-view mirror where the two bored individuals made eye contact with each other. The driver pointed at his ears, and like the good person he was moved one of the headphones from his ear.

"You still with me kid?" the driver asked as his eyes returned to the road ahead of him.

"I guess you could say that," he answered. "How much longer is it going to be?"

The driver picked up his cup of coffee and took a long sip before answering. "Not too much longer. Once we pass this hill your stop should be at your stop. In the fifteen plus years I've been driving, I've only had to drive this way three times, this time not added. If you don't mind me asking what brings you all the way out here?"

He looked at the rear-view mirror to see the eyes of his driver firmly placed on him. It was most likely due to the bored they both faced. "I'm going to live here for about a year while my living situation back down south gets situated."

"Wow, so you are moving from the south of Japan all the way to the north. Must be somewhat of a shock going from nice warm weather to the colder climate up here. I hope you packed a bunch of warm clothes because it gets cold up here!" The driver laughed.

"It may take a bit getting used to but I'm sure I'll be fine." He responded without the same amount of energy the driver. In all honesty he was tired and try as he might he couldn't the enthusiasm of the driver.

The driver seemed to have noticed his lack of energy and with a sigh he returned his view to the road ahead.

He couldn't help but feel a bit bad for the driver, as he was only trying to lighten the mood and bring a smile to his face. Looking back out the window the scenery sadly didn't seem any better.

Time seemed to slowly pass even slower than before. His eyes became heavy, and it was getting difficult for him to stay awake. His song of choice wasn't doing him much favors as it just relaxed him and lulling him to sleep.

"Okay we are here," the driver huffed loudly, waking him from his half sleep deposition.

There was a small bench with a canopy and a sign which read, "Bus Stop". The area itself seemed just as desolate as the rest of the area, but something about the little bench in the middle of no where made him feel a bit better. The taxi came to a complete stop and he got out of the car, grabbing his luggage, and not before handing the taxi driver his fare.

The driver sighed as he took the cash from his hands and said a small farewell before driving away.

While the sun was still out and shining, the cold air of the Hokkaido region made him recoil a bit. He could immediately feel the cold air creep on his exposed ears, nose and cheeks. He exhaled with his mouth, and he could still slightly make out his breath. Grabbing his single luggage case, he sat down, and he could feel the cold metal bench underneath him and without even thinking about it he started to shiver. There was no mistake in his mind, he wasn't cut out for the cold.

He made sure to pull his black beany down lower, which in turn completely covered his ears. People did warn him to pack warm as it would be a lot colder here than in the south. His current attire consisted of a loose-fitting black tee underneath a red and green plaid flannel, dark blue jeans, with a pair of tan waterproof boots. His long messy hair was sticking out of the beany and slightly curling up and he had a single long strand of hair that crossed his face. It may not have been the warmest of clothing, but he liked it.

Glancing down at his phone the time read, 9:46 am. He still had a while to wait before his next ride would pick him up. His phone was on low battery as well. The long trip up here combined with listening to music must have drained his battery a lot faster than he could have realized. Begrudgingly he stopped the music and put the phone on lower power mode hoping that it would last him until he was able to charge his phone next.

Looking around his surroundings he noticed that there where some hiking trails. Glancing down at his phone he checked the time once again and the same time appeared once again. His ride wouldn't arrive until 10:30, and he didn't have much else to do now that his phone was being placed in low power mode. "Well why not. This place is going to be my new after all," he sighed to himself as he hid his luggage behind a tree.

The path before him seemed like it stretched on for a while, so it would be best to remain on the path and not stray too far. Peaceful would be the way he would describe his environment, the trees that surrounded him were green and lush, and one could occasionally hear birds playing in the distance. This was nothing like back home…

Home…

Did… did he even have a home anymore?

Honestly, he had no idea.

Looking back at what had happened, he wouldn't be surprised if he was no longer welcome there anymore.

Hell, he wouldn't himself to comeback after what had happened.

Thinking back resurfaced fresh scars, and it hurt to remember such things.

If only he could go back and do something about it all… if only he could…

He would make things right.

He had to make things right.

…

…

…

He couldn't help but sigh at the swirling thoughts in his head. Everyone had told him to get over it and forget about it, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't forget about it. This was something that he couldn't easy forget.

"You look troubled young man," an older voice said from behind him. "Might I lend a helping ear?"

He was startled by the old man who was standing before him. The old man was seemed normal enough, it seemed as if he was hiking judging by his apparel. "I uh… I'm," he trailed off in his stupor. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking about the past is all."

The old man's gaze felt as if he was staring a hole right through him, it was as if he could see everything about him. "The past huh?" the old man all but laughed. "The past seems to have its chains around many people, but not many are willing to do much about it."

"What are you talking about?" He asked as he honestly wondered what he the old man was talking about.

The old man said nothing in response and instead started to walk past him. "People around these parts that are stuck in the past tend not to make it far in life. I wonder where you will end up?"

"Hold on what do you mean by that?" he called out to the old man.

"If you are stuck looking back you will never look forward towards your future, and that isn't a life I think anyone should live. Besides this town isn't kind to those trapped in the past." The old man plainly stated as his voice and figure faded into the distance. With each passing step he grew further and further. "Only those that are willing to break the chains that bind them to their past and are willing to face said past can have a future. Will you let your past define you just like many other before you, or will you stand up seize your own future?"

The old man's words rung true in his ears. It had only been a couple of months since the incident, but he had already let it consume him. Everyday since then, the incident had been on his mind. He felt guilt, and ashamed for the actions he took that day.

The image of her smile fading was one that hurt him.

He wanted to see that smile return.

His gaze fell to the ground and he couldn't help but imagine a world where everything was alright. Maybe it was something he could work towards achieving… just maybe…

Her smile and the other that lost their smile day was something that he was willing to fight for. If he didn't what sort of life could he lead?

He was willing to do whatever he needed to do. Rather if anything was going to become normal he had to fight for it to become so. He wanted to make things right again.

The old man's words were blunt, but they did the trick and they reaffirmed the idea that he needed to do something to atone. He needed to better himself, and maybe just maybe things would become better.

Looking back at the path, he started to jog to catch up to the old man. However, that seemed to be a bigger issue than he first would have imagined as the path became long winding, and the old man was no where to be seen. "Hey, old man where did you go?!" He shouted hoping the old man would answer his call.

No answer came, and he began to run down the path. The trees around him became less dense and winds were picking up around him and it all became colder. He could even begin to smell the salt ocean breeze, and after a bit more pushing he finally came to ahead and was greeted by the old man who was staring out into the distance. Rather the old man was looking at the morning sun reflecting off the surface of the ocean. It was a stunning view to say the least, and he approached the railing with a sense of awe.

"I see that you decided then." The old man said not taking his eyes off the ocean. "I hope you know this won't be an easy task."

He couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah I kind of figured that, but you are right. I have no future if I stay in the past. I… I want to make things right with those I have wronged."

The old man smiled and asked, "What's your name?"

"Satoshi, Satoshi Akiyama."

"Well then Satoshi, I hope that this year is fruitful one for you. I look forward to seeing your resolve." The old man laughed as his face broke out into a large smile.

In the corner of his eyes Satoshi could see what appeared to be a blue butterfly flying around the two of them. He turned to face it, but as he did, strength left his body and his eyes shut. Just like that his world had turned dark and his consciousness had faded away.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Thank you for taking the time to read my story. This is my first story on this site, and I hope I could at least entertain those of you who read my story. As I'm sure you all have guessed, this is an imagining story for how Persona 6 could look, it probably won't look anything like this, but why not give it a shot?**

 **Not much happened this chapter, but I wrote it this way on purpose to help better establish the tone of the story. The next chapter will have a lot more in store in terms of actually introducing the world and characters. In the meantime, any comments are welcome as I want to get better at writing and that can't happen without feedback.**

 **Thanks once again for taking the time to read this story and I too see you all next chapter!**


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